A hospital trust has apologized to a lady for neglecting to acknowledge that a surgeon was responsible for a catastrophic hemorrhage that nearly claimed her life following a Caesarean operation.
East Kent Hospitals Trust argued for seven years that the baby’s size was to blame.
The 34-year-old told that nothing but lies were said.
Tracy Fletcher, the chief executive officer of East Kent Hospitals, committed to “ensure that lessons are learned.”
Louise Dempster gave birth in May 2015, but the surgeon’s error was only revealed this year following an investigation into inadequate maternity care at East Kent Hospitals Trust.
Louise’s first pregnancy had been unremarkable until she experienced two potentially life-threatening problems in the days leading up to her due date.
A scan revealed that Louise had pre-eclampsia and a liver issue that put her in danger of postpartum hemorrhage due to the baby’s rapid growth.
She was inducted into The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, which is part of the East Kent Hospitals Trust.
Dr. Bill Kirkup’s investigation concluded in October that at least 45 infants who died in the Trust’s maternity services between 2009 and 2020 could have survived with better care.
Louise was given a Caesarean section after her labor slowed, and her boy was delivered large and healthy.
Staff left Louise in the recovery room with her family, but her mother, Linda, noted she appeared to be losing consciousness: “As I was speaking with her, I watched her eyes roll back and she seemed to lose consciousness.”
The 61-year-old mother discovered “blood from head to toe” when uncovering her daughter’s covers.
Linda is a senior nurse who has worked in quality and infection control on a national scale. It did not require her knowledge to recognize that her daughter was in grave danger.
She recalls, “I attempted to pull the emergency buzzer, but it did not work.”
Louise reports that she believed she was dying: “I just recall hearing my mother beg for rescue. And her stroking my hair while declaring her love for me. I was aware that something was amiss “.
Louise was re-admitted to surgery. The surgeon told her after the operation that the bleeding had occurred because her uterus had not returned to its normal size after giving child.
He placed a Bakri balloon to control the bleeding, but Louise was rushed back to surgery a few hours later when Linda noticed she was still losing a significant amount of blood.
Her original surgeon requested assistance from a cancer specialist. Louise required a major blood transfusion, but after several days in the hospital, she recovered.
The family believed there must have been a problem with Louise’s care, so they gathered all of her records and contacted the professionals involved.
However, they felt as if they had hit a brick wall. All the notes corroborated her initial surgeon’s account of the events. The Trust did not consider the occurrence to be a major incident, so the investigation was terminated.
Louise reports that she was told she was fortunate to have a child and that she should “get on with it.”
However, the psychological impact was substantial: “I believe my mental health has been negatively damaged. I also feel as though I’ve never had the opportunity to have another child, despite my desire to do so. I have to deal with numerous triggers and flashbacks from that period “she explains.
In 2020, Louise and her mother provided testimony to the Kirkup investigation.
A few weeks before the release of the findings, the chairman of the investigation, Dr. Bill Kirkup, requested a meeting.
He stated that he had located a record that had not been shared with the family, which revealed that Louise’s bleeding was caused by a surgical error and not by the size of her son, as they had been led to believe.
Louise was enraged that her assumptions about what had transpired were validated.
“They had so many valid reasons that they could have explained what happened. They also did not, “she says. “I spent so much time following the birth consulting professionals to determine what transpired.”
The Kirkup inquiry uncovered evidence of workers “omitting critical elements in narratives given to families as well as official entities,” with the result being “a cover-up of the truth.”
The Trust asserts that it is committed to enhancing clinical practice and will evaluate Louise’s care.
Tracy Fletcher, the company’s chief executive, stated, “We apologize unreservedly to Louise and her family for the errors in her treatment and for neglecting to explain what went wrong, which falls far short of the compassion and standards patients should expect and deserve.”
